A successful EATC-JAPCC combined air-to-air refuelling forum

The air-to-air refuelling community gathered at EATC’s headquarters

Major General Chris Badia, Commander EATC, and Air Commodore Madelein Spit, Assistant Director JAPCC*, welcomed the air-to-air refuelling (AAR) community for adedicated platform from 23 to 26 January 2017. More than 70 experts met for this exceptional and inaugural forum led by EATC and JAPCC.

In his speech, Major General Badia underlined that the main players in the European arena will work together to ensure a common and successful way forward for AAR operations. Air Commodore Spit confirmed JAPCC’s willingness to facilitate the dynamic cooperation between all stakeholders.

In various workshops and conferences, air operation taskers and planners from the national entities, experts from the flight test centres, delegates from national ministries of defence and representatives from EATC, JAPCC, EDA**, MCCE*** and industry exchanged ideas and discussed the way forward. They addressed common inputs and challenges, the need for operational flexibility and interoperability as well as for the harmonization of regulations and procedures.

The forum confirmed the willingness of the participants to continue to find, through collaborative efforts, synergies and solutions to their common challenges.

Read more on air-to-air refuelling with EATC.

During this forum, EATC also held an air-to-air refuellinggathering to address the introduction of national AAR coordination centres and EATC’s role as facilitator for the nations in the planning and execution of AAR capabilities and capacities. EATC is a key actor in the harmonisation and standardisation of related tactics, techniques and procedures, in particular in view of future common operations. Through its holistic and multinational approach, EATC will become a recognized centre of expertise and a think tank for AAR.